The McGladrey Classic Preview

Chris Kirk defends The McGladrey Classic

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 21 October 2014

The PGA Tour travels to Georgia this week for The McGladrey Classic. Chris Kirk defends the title against a strong field over the Seaside Course at Sea Island.

Lowdown: The PGA Tour travels to Georgia this week for The McGladrey Classic. Chris Kirk defends the title against a strong field over the Seaside Course at Sea Island.

After finishing second in last season’s FedEx Cup race, Kirk will be amongst the favourites this week in Sea Island. Other big names on the start list include Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson.

The Seaside course at Sea Island is a classic Harry Colt and Charles Alison design dating from 1929. Tom Fazio completed a renovation in 1999. It’s been the venue for some significant amateur competitions over the years including the US Senior Amateur and the US Senior Women’s Amateur.

This tournament was first contested on the PGA Tour in 2010 when Heath Slocum was the winner. Ben Crane took the title via a playoff against Webb Simpson in 2011. Tommy Gainey fired a superb final round of 60 to win in 2012.

In last year’s tournament, Chris Kirk was the champion. He won by a stroke after Briny Baird bogeyed the final hole.

Wind is the main protector on this resort course and, when it’s up, the par-70 layout is challenging. Last year in the second round the wind was gusting and the average score was more than two-over-par. However, when it’s calm, scoring can be low over the Seaside Course – see Tommy Gainey’s final round 60 in 2012.

The weather looks set fair for this week and, although there may be a breeze, strong winds don’t look likely.

Venue: Seaside Course, Sea Island, Georgia Date: Oct 23-26 Course stats: par 70, 7,005 yards Purse: $5,600,000 Winner: $1,008,000 Defending Champion: Chris Kirk (-14)

TV Coverage:

Thursday 23 – Sky Sports 4 from 7pm Friday 24 – Sky Sports 4 from 7pm Saturday 25 – Sky Sports 4 from 7pm Sunday 26 – Sky Sports 4 from 6pm

Player Watch:

Webb Simpson – He has a great record in this event, his worst finish being a tie for 12th. He was tied fourth last week in Las Vegas.

Chris Kirk – The defending champion makes his first start of the new season. But it’s not so long ago that he won the Deutsche Bank Championship and finished tied fourth in The Tour Championship.

Tony Finau – Tied 12th in the Frys.com Open and tied seventh last week in the Shriners. If he continues in that vein, he could well be a contender this week.

Key hole: 18th. At 470 yards, the closing par 4 on the Seaside Course is a real tester. It often ranks as the toughest on the course and could witness some slip-ups late on in proceedings.

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Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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